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Lead defendants are everywhere and of every type in metropolitan Baltimore, Maryland.
One of the major reasons for this is the fact that lead is virtually everywhere in the Baltimore
metropolitan area : e.g., in the air Baltimoreans breathe, in the water we drink and use, in our soil, playgrounds and sandlots, dust, pipes and plumbing fixtures, our work clothes, in our schools, government buildings and commercial buildings, factories and industrial sites, food and drinks, cosmetics and jewelry, hobbies, pre-1978 built houses and apartments, many foreign-made products such as toys, furniture, etc. The point is that not all lead defendants are slumlords. Many are good, law-abiding citizens who happen to be very small-time landlords of a rental property that was built before 1978. Many of them,too, are victims of the lead paint debacle.
Lead is a malleable, soft, utilitarian, heavy metal (Atomic Number 82) that does not dissolve in water, nor decay, nor dissipate, nor burn. Lead has been mined and used prolifically throughout the industrial world for over 6,000 years (since about 4,000 B.C.). Lead has a scientific "half-life" of over 500,000 years; consequently, it lasts, and lasts, and lasts. Though restricted for good reasons in the United States (mainly health-related reasons), lead is such a useful metal that many other countries simply throw medical caution to the wind and use it anyway in their industries. The problem is that many of the lead-based products made in these foreign countries (like China, etc.) end up being sold
to American consumers.
In urban areas like inner-city Baltimore where there are still many past and present locations of pre-1978 built apartments and houses, schools, industrial and government and commercial buildings, etc., there can be a considerable amount of lead in the soil. Deteriorated lead-containing paint, past auto emissions from leaded gas usage, past industrial activities, etc., all invariably end up in the soil; where children (particularly under the age of 6) play and frequently ingest and inhale lead-tainted soil and dust in yards, playgrounds and parks.
Though not as bad as in some other countries, old or legacy lead paint is a problem in several areas of the United States where there are numerous apartments and houses built before 1978. For many years in the United States, lead paint was marketed and sold as a legal product, and was in great demand because it was washable and durable. Although evidence shows that (like the tobacco industry) manufacturers who produced and sold lead-based paint to consumers knew or should have known,
long ago, that ingested and inhaled leaded paint was harmful to the human body ( and in particular to children under the age of 6), these paint manufacturers continue to produce and sell this harmful product for many years. Finally, in 1978 lead paint was finally banned by the Federal government for many consumer uses in the United States.
Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body, often over a period of time (months or even years). Children under the age of 6 are are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can severely affect mental and physical development. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal.
[ If you are being named as a defendant in a lead paint or lead poisoning claim, contact premier landlord lead poisoning defense attorney Charles Jerome Ware at (410) 720-6129 or (410) 730-5016]
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